Monsters Within
by FlyWithoutWingz
Summary: In the past, Kuroko wasn't deadpan, gloomy or unnoticeable. Nor did he had trouble expressing himself. The reason for that is a secret lock within him. A secret that even Kuroko isn't aware of himself. No pairings.


Greetings everyone. So this is my first Kuroko no Basuke fanfiction and so I apologize ahead of time if the characters are OOCish. D: I've tried my best to keep them as in character as possible. (Believe I've read the manga a lot of times and did the best I could. D: ) I'm SORRRY! Plus I'm not sure when is the next time I'm gonna update cause I tend to go ADD and life as a student in the university is a pain…..; I'll try to update as soon as possible. I have the plot written out just not the chapters….

So, um…the idea came from several anime ideas that I've watched a year ago or more…I don't know. Originally I wanted to do it with Prince of Tennis but, there was a hole in the plot and I kind of lost motivation after the storyline got ridiculous.

Another thing, there is no pairing. =\ No slashes or any pairing what so ever. Just FYI. Anyways…I'm going to cut this author note short. So I thank my friend for being my beta. D: I double checked it just in case too. So yeah…happy reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Kuroko no Basuke. D: Sad…

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**Monsters Within**

Chapter 1: If this is what basketball is, then I hate it

Teiko Middle School (1 year ago; two weeks before the Third Championship)

"I'm going to send in my resignation to Akashi-kun after the championship." Kuroko said deadpan as he and Momoi were walking towards Teiko Middle School. Momoi's eyes widen as she stopped in her tracks. He noticed that she stopped following him and turned to face her. Today Akashi had asked Momoi and Kuroko to restock some of the basketball equipment. Momoi was delighted to have Kuroko accompany her. After they put in their order at the shop, carrying two bags that they are able to bring back, they began talking about the team which led to Kuroko announcing his resignation. "Momoi-san?"

"Tetsu-kun, why? Akashi-kun won't be happy about that." Momoi looked at him with concern. This wasn't like Kuroko. Kuroko stared her suppressing any emotion and then glanced at his watch to check the time.

"We still have time before we need to get back. How about we take a break and talk?" he said. She nodded and they both continued to walking. They ended up in the park and sat by a bench near the basketball court where two kids were playing. Momoi and Kuroko put their stuff down. As Momoi sat down Kuroko went to the nearest vending machine and brought her back a cold drink. "Momoi-san, do you think basketball is fun?"

"Fun?" Momoi looked at him surprised, accepting the drink as Kuroko sat down next to her. She popped open the can and took a sip as she thought carefully on the question. Momoi then smiled as she recalled some old memories "Well, I guess it's fun. I don't play as much as I use to but I love watching the games. Aomine-kun used to drag me to the street courts and we would play until the sunset almost every day. When he started to play with other street ball players it was exhilarating. Watching these people working together to play a sport they love and scoring point after point with a smile on their faces. Like last year when you guys took the championship. All of you were smiling and enjoying the game that day. "

"Last year, huh?" Kuroko mumbled as his eyes downcast fixed on his Pocari drink. His mind wandered back to last year's championship where everyone was smiling and laughing as they were all fighting on who would hold the championship trophy. Even Akashi let his guard down and allowed the team to enjoy the day partying. "Momoi-san, I don't think I find basketball fun anymore."

"Eh? Because it's not fun anymore? Is that why you're resigning?"

"Part of it is that and another is because of Teiko's policies. But also I believe the team doesn't need me anymore." He took a gulp of his Pocari and wiped his mouth with his wristband. "Lately during the matches, they've been giving me less passes and are more focus on their 20 point quota. I don't think it's possible for me to stick around any longer."

"That's not true!" Momoi shouted and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt pulling him closer which startled him. "They need you! Your passes are what bring the best out of them. "

"You mean what used to bring the best out of them. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. They're all shining so bright, Momoi-san. I feel like I'm suffocating. If this is the kind of basketball we're going to play, then I don't want to play." Kuroko turned his attention away from Momoi and observed the two kids playing on the court. "Winning is everything at Teiko. Is that really what basketball is? I feel this kind of basketball isn't basketball. It's not the same as the one that I loved before. If this is what basketball is, then I hate it."

"Kuroko…" Momoi looked down on the ground not knowing what else to say. She knew that everyone on the team was growing to their full potential. Aomine was the first to do so which had created a rift between Kurok and him. After that everyone started to drift apart and the game wasn't like it used to be. There were no smiles or laughter in the court. The high fives were empty encouragement and winning was all too easy now. It was not a challenge for the Generation of Miracles anymore as it was certain that they would win.

"I'll leave my resignation letter on the table before morning practice tomorrow and disappear into the shadows," he said. Kuroko drank the last of his Pocari and got up to throw away his can in the recycling bin. "We better start going back before Akashi-kun punish us."

Momoi nodded and finished drinking her drink. She then threw it in the recycling bin as well. Both Kuroko and her gathered their stuff and started heading back to Teiko. As they were almost out of sight of the basketball courts, a kid screamed. They stop in their tracks and turned around facing the basketball courts. From a distance they saw the kids that were playing basketball earlier were surrounded what seemed to be three high schoolers. One of the kids was crying on the ground while the other was trying to get the ball back which the teens had taken.

The teen on the left was as tall as Aomine, had messy long blonde hair that reached down to his shoulders, and narrow brown eyes. He was holding the basketball up high, amused by one of the kids jumping up trying to reach for it. The next one on the right looked about as tall as Kise. He had black spiky hair in the front and a mullet down his neck with droopy green eyes. The last one amongst the group who stood in the center was also as tall as the blonde, had short wavy purple hair, and narrow purple eyes. His skin was also very dark, possibility darker than Aomine.

"Tetsu-kun, what should we d-eh? Tetsu-kun?" Momoi noticed that Kuroko had disappeared. She looked around then spotted Kuroko heading towards the court. "Tetsu-kun!"

"Give us back the ball!" shouted the jumping kid. The three teenagers laughed and the one with the ball spun it on his fingertips.

"Too bad!" he said and spit out his gum on the court. "This ball is ours now."

"Please don't be like that. That ball is his." Kuroko appeared before them. Everyone was startled by his sudden appearance. The kids began to back away from them. "Also, please put your gum in the trash bin. This place is for playing basketball."

"Throw our gum away? That's hilarious! Who the hell you think you are huh?" laughed the mullet teen and was about to grab his shirt.

"Yeah. Why don't you do us a favor and go do that huh?" said the tan teen and pushed Kuroko on his shoulder as the other teen let go to where the gum lay. He wobble sideways for a second and regain his balance.

"If you like basketball of course you'll take care about the court!" The three of them stared at Kuroko in amusement and started laughing hard. Kuroko could feel he was at his breaking point.

"Tetsu-kun!" interrupted Momoi. She dropped the stuff on the side ran into the court. Kuroko and the three teens turn their attention to her. The blonde whistled as he stared at her boobs.

"Whoa. Check out the chick!" the blonde whispered to them and pointed at her boobs. The two of them stared and Momoi stopped in her tracks before coming closer. She hugged her chest feeling violated by the guys staring.

"Whoa! Dude she's hot!" the tan teen smirked and licked his lip. Momoi shivered

"But man, how could a weak guy like you have such a hot girlfriend, huh?" groaned the mullet teen as he turned his attention to Kuroko.

"Hey, I know. How about this, kid?" The tan teen turned to Kuroko. "You like basketball, right? If you win, we'll give the ball back to these kids and be on our way. However, if we win, you'll give us her and we keep the ball."

Momoi felt her face begin to heat up as she became angry. Angry they would treat her as some sort of trophy. She felt this was dejavu when last year when another group of high schoolers had said the exact same thing and were later overpowered by Aomine, Kise, and Midorima in a match. [1]

"Momoi-san is not an object. Please leave her out of this." Kuroko stated and glared at the three.

"Aww, kid is afraid of losing? I guess we win, huh guys?" the tan teen grinned at his two friends.

"I understand," Kuroko said, grinding his teeth in frustration with his eyes downcast. The three teens scowled at his remark. Why did this weakling have to make their lives so difficult? "But, you must also apologize to Momoi-san!"

When she heard Kuroko say that, she felt her heart pounding and all the rage was wash off of her. Momoi put her hands on her cheeks and admired Kuroko for being so brave. She snapped out of her admiration and her eyes widen in realization. There was no chance Kuroko could win because he's a passing specialist and also unable to shoot.

"But…" Momoi looked at him with concern. Kuroko looked at Momoi and gave her a gentle smile.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely win for Momoi's sake. I can't stand people like them insulting my friends." Momoi melted when she saw him smiled. There was no stopping him now so all she could do was nod at him. She put her hands together and prayed that Kuroko would have the slightest chance of winning.

"Ahahaha…well then, first to get 10 baskets wins." The blonde smirked. The three of them started passing the ball among themselves. The mullet teen received the ball and shot from the side of the basket. The ball bounce on the rim then into the net.

"Whoo hoo! First point for us!" he yelled. The game continued as the tan teen retrieved the ball and dribbled it onto the court. He looked around to see where Kuroko was. Unable to detect his presence, Kuroko took his chance and stole the ball from him.

"What the? Where the hell did you come from!" the tan teen yelled but was ignored. Kuroko tried to make a shot but the ball bounced off the backboard. The mullet teen stole the ball and passed it to the blonde. As the blonde was about to receive the ball Kuroko appeared and took the ball away again. The blonde was startled and Kuroko tried to score again but failed.

Five minutes into, the score was still 1-0 with the high schoolers in the lead. The three teens found themselves mentally exhausted trying to avoid Kuroko from stealing the ball and his lack of presence made it hard for them to keep track of where he was. Kuroko was panting from all the running he has do as a one man team, and it didn't help that his stamina was very low. Also his misdirection had already run out. The tan teen noticed how worn out he was and smirked.

The blonde dribbled the ball and passed it the mullet teen. Kuroko was about to intercept the pass when he felt someone shoved him hard into the ground. Momoi gasped. She saw the tan teen was the one who pushed Kuroko onto the ground to receive the ball. The tan teen laughed and then scored a point.

"Looks like your magic trick has run out." The tan teen looked down on Kuroko. Kuroko glared at him and got himself back up to continued playing. The game had changed as the three teens made it rougher for him. They tripped him, shoved him to the ground, jabbed him in the gut, and even purposefully pushed him into the pole. The high schoolers kept scoring point after point. At this point the kids that were on the sideline lost all hope of getting their ball back and ran away.

"Tetsu-kun!" cried Momoi.

This wasn't basketball, this was bullying! Kuroko could see the bruises forming on his legs and arms. He could feel the pain of each impact and tried to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. The score was now 7-0 in favor of the high schoolers. Kuroko made another attempt to steal the ball when he felt one of them shove him into the pole and his head hit it hard. Red thick blood dripped down his forehead as he lied on the ground. Kuroko could feel his head throbbing.

"Oh? Give up already?" laughed the blonde. Kuroko glared at him and tried to get up but found someone pushing his head to the ground. From his peripheral vision he could see it was the mullet teen who had his knee digging into his back. The tan teen approached him with an evil smile and kicked him in the gut.

"Leave him alone!" Momoi ran up to them and was about to punch the tan teen. The blonde grabbed her arm before she could do so. "Let me go!"

The tan teen kneeled down and the mullet teen got off of Kuroko. The tan teen grabbed Kuroko's neck and lifted him up. Kuroko struggled to gasp for air; the tan teen was just amused. Then the teen shoved Kuroko into the wire fence and gave him one more hard kick. As weak as Kuroko was he tried to get up but the pain was unbearable as he found himself welcoming the darkness.

"Tetsu-kun!"

"Looks like it's our win. The ball and the girl are ours." He said. "Let's go, guys."

"Whoo hoo!" the mullet teen jumped in excitement and the blonde smirked. The high schoolers started to walk out of the courts dragging Momoi along. Momoi saw her vision turn red from anger. She kicked the blonde where it hurt most and was about to run towards her friend when suddenly a body collided with hers, shoving her to the ground in an indecent position. The tan teen hovered over her and licked his lips. He had both of his hands holding down on her wrists.

"Now, now where do you think you're running to?" Momoi squirmed from his hold and spit at his face. The tan teen slapped her face and Momoi flinched. He wiped his face. "You're gonna pay for that, you bitch!"

The three high schoolers stared down at her and was about to assault her. Momoi closed her eyes waiting for the worst. _Daiki! _

"Oi you bastard! Let go of her!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. The tan teen turned to see who it was and all of a sudden wham! A punch.

"What the-"Before the mullet teen could even finish his sentence, he also received a punch in the face. Momoi went into a fetal position as she heard the crunching of bones being broken and the thud of a body crashing to the ground. Momoi opened her eyes and uncurled herself when she didn't hear any more sounds. She sat herself up and looked to see her savior. Her eyes widened in horror and her mouth gaped. Momoi was at a loss for words as the guy stood in the center surrounded by the three unconscious bodies.

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*Note:

[1]: Reference in the Light Novel of Replace.

So uh…your thoughts? Review? D: I'm sorry again if they're OOCish or it bores you or my writing isn't that good or anything else! *hides in the shadows*


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